Batman: Gotham Knight is the new animated movie which takes place between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and is a combination of six short stories about what everyone’s favorite Bat was up to. The soundtrack hits each of these six chords with a brooding and ominous feel that only someone with Batman in mind could bring to our ears. However the soundtrack wasn’t composed by one such understanding individual but three composers: Christopher Drake, Kevin Manthei, and Robert J. Kral. While the six sections of the soundtrack are audibly diverse, deep down, its all Batman.
While it is all Batman, the score itself isn’t cohesive if you want one musical theme throughout. Some parts are the deep bass line you would expect with the heroic overtones often characteristic of a Batman score. Other sections are strange and exotic, and had I not known it was for Batman I would have wondered what had happened to my soundtrack. Musically the entire soundtrack is interesting and compelling. The different sections are distinct, but none are uninteresting. While some of the tracks clearly are meant for the background only, it does have its fair share of song length tracks that could very easily stand on their own.
Without having seen Batman: Gotham Knight I can say it does bring to mind imagery for Batman. In my mind, track 6 (“Have I Got a Story For You Finale”) really embodied the kind of music I expect from anything related to the Dark Knight, but it wasn’t the only one. The soundtrack has several different tones, but they evoke mental imagery and are interesting to listen to. I would give this soundtrack a 4 out of 5. An excellent listen.
